Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz

Goodreads Synopsis:

What's a girl to do when meeting The One means she's cursed to die a horrible death?

Life hasn't been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Connor, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she's irresistibly drawn to—Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight.

But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can't stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma's been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives—visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.

By Cara Lynn Shultz

Paperback, 341 pages

Published June 21st 2011

4 out of 5 stars

Genre: Paranormal Romance

"Spellbound! I was spellbound by you, and to be honest, it took me a little off guard."

The beginning of this book was pretty slow. I wasn't sure where the storyline was going for the first 100 pages. All that had happened so far was Emma, the main character, had moved in with her aunt after her stepfather nearly killed her in a drunk driving accident. At the new exclusive school she's attending, she meets a mysterious and handsome boy, Brenden.

It was kind of irritating how she was almost obsessed with him for a while. She got upset and pouty when he blatantly ignored her. She was confused as to why she was so attracted to him, as well.
It seems like one of those 'insta-love' romances, but it actually turned out to be cute and understandable. It wasn't till about 100 pages in when Emma got nearly beaten up by the school bully that I got interested.

I liked Emma. She's had a tough past, her whole family is gone, including her twin brother and parents. She was abused by her stepfather for a while after her mother died. She comes to live with her aunt in New York for a fresh start. She doesn't complain about her past. Its more of mourning it silently, but never letting it get in the way of her living her life.

I also liked Emma and Brendan's relationship, after the 100 pages in. They believe they are a reincarnated couple, doomed to tragedy every time they fell in love in a lifetime. I liked this reincarnation story, and I could see why they were both so 'attracted' to each other for no reason when they met. Although, I have to admit, Emma is easily swooned by a boy. All he has to do is remember that she likes iced tea, and she's spellbound. Haha, but they do get to know each other as the book progresses. They were also both honest with each other, and both of them were just as confused as to what was going on with this curse and how they were a part of it. They talked about the curse, how it affected them. They didn't avoid talking about their problems. It was so nice to see that in the main couple for a book. Usually, the boy and girl are elusive with each other and I get extremely frustrated with that.

The secondary characters were all developed nicely as well. We have the typical high school popular but mean girl, and the obnoxious and leery boy who hits on Emma. She also makes friends with a witch, Angelique, and a boy named Cisco, who I thought was fun and friendly. Her cousin, Ashley, is perky, innocent, and sweet. Emma feels responsible for her, like an older sister.

This book is centered on the romance aspect more so than the paranormal aspects. In fact, I felt the paranormal aspects were a little inconsistent, and seemed to be just added on to explain why Brenden and Emma were perfect for each other.
But, hey, I liked that.

And there wasn't any love triangles!! Yay!
Also, the book wrapped everything up nice and neatly, not giving me a cliffhanger. I mean, I guess cliffhangers are cool and all, but it was just so nice to read a book without me yelling for more at the end. I can't take those cliffhangers anymore, really!

So, Spellbound surprised me at the end. I ended up liking it more than I thought I would when I first started it. As Brenden would say, I was "spellbound" by it.